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Marcus stuck to his word. He didn’t leave my side. Even when I said I wanted a hot bubble bath, he ran the bath for me, somehow made the bubbles a foot high, then asked if he could sit in the bathroom with me.
“I...well, we’ve kind of not even seen each other naked yet,” I said, my cheeks burning with awkwardness.
“If you’re uncomfortable with it, that’s fine. I just thought we could chat that’s all, instead of being in separate rooms.”
I pressed my lips together and looked at the mountain of bubbles. “Ok. Let me get in the bath first, then you can come in.” A wicked thought crossed my mind. “On one condition.”
He raised an eyebrow as he tweaked his lips into a smirk. “This sounds ominous.”
“All I’m thinking is that if I’m going to be in there naked,” I said, pointing at the bathtub. “Then it seems only fair that I get to look at something too.”
His smirk changed into a grin. “You want me to sit in here naked with you?”
My entire body flushed with heat just at the thought, but I shook my head. “You’ve seen me in my underwear,” I said, my temperature rising by ten degrees as I thought about that night in his bed. “But I haven’t even seen you with your shirt off. It seems only fair that I get to ogle like you did.”
A gentle laugh sounded from him, filling the room with happiness. “I must warn you first though.”
I frowned. “Of what? Do you sparkle or something?”
“No,” he said, chuckling. “If you faint at the sight of my godly body, it’s at your own risk.”
I burst out laughing. “Ok, Ryan. I’ll bear that in mind.”
“Ryan?”
“Ryan Gosling.”
“He’s blonde, Caitlyn.”
“Have you seen Crazy, Stupid, Love?”
He shook his head.
I whipped my phone out of my pocket and brought up YouTube. I searched for the one scene that had literally made me gasp and say ‘oh my god’ out loud the first time I saw it.
“Watch this,” I said, holding my phone out to Marcus.
I studied him as he watched it. His eyes twinkled with life, a soft edge lining the corners of them. His pink lips were slightly parted and I found myself craving to kiss them. He looked peaceful, serene, and I wondered if I would ever get to watch him sleep.
“I agree,” he said, handing my phone back to me. “He’s photoshopped.”
I laughed. “He so isn’t. Anyway, my point is, I didn’t faint at that so I think I can handle seeing you.”
He pulled me into him and tilted my chin up. “My dear Caitlyn. Seeing something on a screen is entirely different to seeing it in real life. But I take your point. Just bear in mind you have been warned.”
I grinned. “Thank you for the concern for my health again but I’ll be fine.”
He pecked my lips and then said, “Let me know when you’re ready.”
I smirked and shooed him out of the door. As I undressed, I couldn’t help but wonder what he would look like. Would he be a Ryan Gosling or something better? Was it even possible for vampires to have a stunning physique? It’s not like they could benefit from protein shakes or red meat.
Slipping under the bubbles, my mind played with the idea of placing the bubbles strategically to tease him. Just a glimpse of flesh here and there. I loved the way he looked at me that night at his. I’d never had anyone look at me like that.
“I’m ready,” I said, chickening out of the peep show idea. I covered myself up to my neck with thick layers of bubbles.
As I laid my head back against the rolled edge of the bathtub, I turned my head to the left to watch the door open and waited for his grand entrance. Fizzy tingles shot all the way around me as the anticipation rose to the point I almost laughed with nervousness.
When the brass door handle finally moved, I held my breath. When the door opened, I bit my lip. However, when I saw Marcus, I couldn’t help but say, “Wow.”
My entire body turned to jelly which meant that my legs gave way and I slipped beneath the water. I came up seconds later, spluttering for air and coughing, furiously wiping water out of my eyes just so I could see him again.
“Are you ok?” he said, coming to the tub, chuckling.
I nodded. “Yes. Stand back over there,” I said, pointing to the doorway. “I’m not finished ogling.”
He obliged, a beaming grin on his handsome face.
This incredible man before me made Ryan Gosling look like an every day average bloke. Every millimetre of him was so defined I’d never seen anything like it. Not even on a poster or in a film.
“Are you wearing make up?” I asked, squinting my eyes at his body.
His skin looked as soft as snow, it almost seemed to glisten under the lights and the way it moved with each steady breath he took made me think of ice cream for some reason. He didn’t have a six pack, he had an eight pack, and every single inch looked like it had been stuck on him. I could see every muscle, taut and defined, beneath his smooth skin. Even his shoulders and arms, every sinew was visible.
“What do you mean am I wearing make up?”
“That...you’re...so defined. You must be wearing make up to create shadows or something.”
He laughed. “I’m afraid not. This is au natural.”
“I’ve never seen anything like...” I waved my hand in his general direction “...well, you, that.”
My eyes kept lingering on the V that pointed down and disappeared beneath his jeans. He must have caught that because he decided to pop the button open with a wicked grin.
“Did you seriously just do that?” I asked.
“I think I seriously just did,” he replied, smirking.
I scowled and turned my attention to the ceiling. “That’s it. No more attention for you.”
“May I take a seat now then if you’re done ogling?”
“Sure, whatever,” I said, waving my hand dismissively and trying to sound nonchalant.
He chuckled and sat down on the floor, leaning his head back against the wall. I couldn’t help but give in and look at him. Thankfully, he started a conversation about the rest of the evening at the ball which relaxed me somewhat, especially when he detailed all the things his family said to him. After that mild entertainment, I started quizzing him some more on vampire things.
“What cool things can you do other than run fast and compel people?”
“You missed the strength,” he said, flashing me a cheesy grin.
I rolled my eyes. “Other than the normal, is there anything else you can do?”
“If I tell you this, I’ll have to kill you.”
I grinned. “That sounds intriguing.”
He laughed. “I guess I can spare you on this occasion. This only applies to born vampires. Made vampires are nothing but what TV and film depict. All born vampires have the ability to absorb and reuse magic.”
“What do you mean?”
“Providing it isn’t water based, of course. Say for instance I had a fight with a witch—”
“Witches are real?”
He chuckled. “Yes, Caitlyn. They are very real. Isis was a powerful witch, remember?”
“You said Goddess.”
“And what powers do they possess?”
The lightbulb flicked on. “That hadn’t even dawned on me.”
“There are a lot of them. They’re not as rare as you might think.”
“Do you know any? Do I know any?”
“I do, yes. I’m not at liberty to answer if you do I’m afraid.”
“Why?”
“Because if they wanted you to know their secret then they would tell you themselves. The first rule of our world is that no one outs anyone to the outside world.”
I hadn’t really thought of Marcus’ world being any bigger than a handful of vampires. Now witches were involved too, it suddenly seemed like this was literally an entire society that lived among humans, silently.
“Ok, that’s fair. I understand. So how big exactly is this world you live in?”
“Huge. It runs right alongside humans.”
“Wow. Is it just vampires and witches?”
He grimaced.
“Right. Not at liberty to say?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry, Caitlyn, but the world we live in has only survived because of its secrecy. Our Elders are very strict about this.”
“Elders?”
“They are the ones in charge. Similar to humans and presidents and kings, etcetera. We have our own laws to abide by as well as human ones.”
“That sounds really dull and boring. Where’s the freedom? Why don’t you want humans knowing about you?”
“Because all they’d do is freak out there are more powerful beings than them and kill us.”
“But you have all the power. You could wipe out the whole of humanity in a matter of days.”
He nodded. “Yes, of course we could. But then where’s the food source? Or sacrifices for the witches?”
I jerked my head back. “Sacrifices?”
“Unfortunately, it’s a real thing.”
“Wow. I feel like my head is going to explode.”
He chuckled. “It’s a lot to take in.”
“What were you saying before, about vampires reusing magic or something?”
“Right, yes. Obviously the only people who can create and use magic are witches. There are frictions between the species, as you’d expect, and there are a high number of occasions where they use their magic against us. However, there’s a catch.”
“I like the sound of this,” I said, grinning.
“A witch can bring a made vampire to his knees within seconds, much like on fictional shows. However, born vampires are a different breed. We already have magic in our blood so they can’t wield their power over us so simply, much to their disgust.”
“But they can do something?”
“Every witch has a basic element they can control. The majority of them are single elementals. Only a handful of bloodlines have the ability to control two or more. Water isn’t a common one, unfortunately for them. The most popular are fire and air. Earth is about as rare as water. If they use their elemental abilities to attack a born vampire, all they do is give us more power. It’s like getting a power boost.”
Instantly, the dream I had at Marcus’ house sprung to mind. Before I could stop myself, the question slipped out. “Who’s Katherine?”
He frowned, a deep crease settling in his perfect skin. “Katherine?”
“The night you took me to Jolene’s, when I slept at yours, what made me wake up at silly o clock was a dream I’d had. It was you chasing me, except I wasn’t me. She, I, whoever, had blonde hair and she threw a fireball at you. Then she fell off a cliff.”
His entire face changed. He jumped to his feet and rushed to my side quicker than I could blink. “Are you telling me the truth?”
I nodded. “Yes.” I then proceeded to tell him every detail I remembered about the dream. “When I fell back off the cliff, the fall is what woke me up. I was so freaked out and you’d gone. That’s why I called Luke. I just needed someone around me. That and I thought you’d dumped me.”
“Caitlyn, that wasn’t a dream.” He leant into the bubbles and picked my hand up. “That actually happened. Word for word exactly as you described it.”
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t even know how to process the possible meaning of it.
“That happened a very long time ago,” he said. “Sixteen-forty-eight to be exact.”
“But that wasn’t your mum?”
He shook his head.
“So who else am I connected to then? Is this doppelganger thing more than what you said?”
“I don’t know. I need to find answers—for you and me.”
I pressed my lips together for a moment and then asked the inevitable question. “Who was she?”
“Forgive me, for what I’m about to say. You must understand I haven’t always been as you know me.”
I nodded.
“She was just another meal. Unfortunately, I was a little off my game and she got away from me.”
“Did she die?”
He smirked and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of my hand. “Oh no. She survived. In fact, you’ve met her.”
I frowned. “When? Who?”
“Selina.”